Are you willing to risk your life for the new iPad 2?

Dell deals never looked so good as people go on a rampage in Beijing to get the new Apple iPad 2.

People were excited to get the new, latest and greatest technology; however, demand is higher than production. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on the new Apple iPad 2 through a store purchase, you can count yourself a member of a very elite club. Now others must find alternative ways to meet their technology needs with a tight pocketbook. In comes items like used cisco switches and a used dell notebook.

Many feel the only way to upgrade is not to buy new but to buy used or refurbished. The demand for these products is on the rise. The market has also seen a significant rise of repair companies and do-it-yourselfers looking for an it parts database to find that elusive piece that will make their it equipment whole again. It services Baltimore has been looking for plasmon optical drives and refurbished cisco routers in ic parts sourcing companies.

A perfect example of the new technology shortage was seen recently at an Apple Store in Beijing. The store was opening to its first day of business selling the iPad 2 to 1000 customers who had been waiting since as early as 4:00am. A violent attack broke out between a customer and an Apple Store employee that left four people injured. The customer was surmised to be a scalper who tried to cut in the huge line. Three Apple security guards and an Apple manager attempted to shove the scalper aside, which ultimately resulted in a shoving match between an Apple security guard and a member of the scalper’s family.

The iPad 2 went on sale in China at 8 am Friday. The first stock-out was reported about four hours later. The slimmer, faster and lighter rendition of iPad was also available on the China Apple Online Store. By Friday afternoon this supply had also been depleted.

The incident confirms the problem scalpers are posing to Apple product launches. Scalpers are buyers who attempt to buy as many Apple devices as they can to later sell it at a premium. Scalpers then resell the devices on Craigslist, eBay or export to other countries.

Another violent incident occurred and police had to be called at the New York Apple Store in March to break up crowds after genuine customers attempted to get past scalpers. Chinese scalpers had lined up outside Apple Store in New York to get hold of as many iPads as they could to later sell the tablets in China at a premium.
Scalpers at New York doled out $100 bills to five cohorts who then went and disbursed the amount to more than 200 Asians waiting outside the queue, who then cleared iPads of the shelf. One of the scalpers demanded $1700 for a top of the line iPad 2 which is priced at $829. However much of the merchandise was shipped to China.

The new devices command a huge premium on sites like Craigslist and eBay. In March when an AT&T iPad 2 was listed on Craigslist, a Russian entrepreneur offered $1050 for the device. The Russian buyer confirmed that he was buying as many AT&T iPads as he could to resell them in Moscow. The site also cited that scalpers usually go for AT&T iPads rather than Verizon ones, as AT&T devices are GSM and come unlocked.
The system followed by the Russian scalper was to wait in the queue from 6 am with seven other friends in New York City. After the first round of purchases they waited in the line again and then arrived again on the scene the third time in a disguise wearing glasses and a baseball cap. He also paid $200 to a guy standing ahead of him to get him another iPad. The scalper specifically went for AT&T iPad 2's. The Russian operative also stated that he would be going to Canada for repeat performance at the Apple Store launch.

At the back of Apple's success scalpers are profiteering by exploiting the Apple iPad 2 mania which has gripped customers globally. However, the violence in Chinese reveals that Apple will have to take action to curb scalpers from curbing supply for real buyers.
Where does that leave the rest of us? Well like many, we go to places like it services Gaithersburg for our Seagate hard drives or for a refurbished dell notebook. After all, either we can’t afford what the scalpers are selling or we just do not want the physical risk to get what we really want.